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Sunday, July 31, 2011

Sikorsky supplying Sweden with Black Hawks

STRATFORD, Conn., May 20 (UPI) -- Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. reports the U.S. government has agreed to sell 15 Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters to Sweden.

The Swedish armed forces will use the aircraft for medical evacuation, utility, and search-and-rescue missions.

Sikorsky is slated to deliver six of the helicopters in 2011 and the remaining nine in 2012 under an accelerated production schedule.

"We're honored to support the Swedish Armed Forces, and we congratulate them for being the first European Union nation to choose this highly evolved UH-60M aircraft, which is part of a lineage of aircraft that have proven themselves countless times under the most extreme conditions all over the world," said Mick Maurer, president of Sikorsky Military Systems.

The UH-60M helicopter is the latest version of the Black Hawk, providing additional payload and range, advanced digital avionics, improved handling qualities and situational awareness, active vibration control, and improved survivability compared with the predecessor UH-60L model.

The company said about 2,700 Black Hawks are in operation today. Sweden will become the 26th nation to operate the aircraft and only the second in Europe, where Austria operates UH-60L models.

U.S. forces have flown various Black Hawk models for 1.2 million flight hours to date in Afghanistan and Iraq without a single material failure.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2011/05/20/Sikorsky-supplying-Sweden-with-Black-Hawks/UPI-20701305898626/.

Brazilian forests cleared

BRASILIA, Brazil, May 20 (UPI) -- The Brazilian space research institute said deforestation in the country increased 400 percent over the course of a year, causing a political stir.

Satellite images depicted deforestation increased from 25,451 acres in March and April in 2010 to 146,533 acres during the same period in 2011, the BBC reports.

Brazilian Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira said the revelation was troubling and announced the government was establishing a special panel to address the findings.

"Our objective is to reduce deforestation by July," she was quoted as saying.

Environmental protectionists argue increased demand for soy and cattle is behind the decision made by farmers to clear more forests from their land. Most of the declines came from the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, a key soybean-producing region.

Others blame the government for dragging its feet on laws regulating deforestation. Advocates of change said more clearing is needed to stimulate the country's agriculture sector, however.

A forest code in place since 1934 spells out how much land a farmer can clear. Currently, 80 percent of the land in the Amazon region must remain forested.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/05/20/Brazilian-forests-cleared/UPI-89311305898428/.

Libyan rebels not extremist, EU says

BRUSSELS, May 20 (UPI) -- Rebels fighting to overthrow Libya's Moammar Gadhafi are not Islamic fanatics, a European diplomat said as the EU prepares to open a liaison office in Benghazi.

The diplomat, interviewed on condition of anonymity by the EU Observer Wednesday, said the rebels "are not a bunch of al-Qaida fanatics."

"There is an Islamic element in the politics of Libyan opposition at the moment, but it is a mild Islamic political trend, which is welcome and will have a role in the national dialogue which they envisage. Their focus is national. It's a liberation struggle," the diplomat said.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton announced last week that a liaison office would be opened in Benghazi to support the Transitional National Council. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised the move.

"Our vision is that the U.N. and the EU will play a leading role in the post-Gadhafi period" that will include organizing elections and drafting a new constitution, the diplomat said.

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski visited Benghazi last week for talks with the rebel council.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/05/20/Libyan-rebels-not-extremist-EU-says/UPI-74721305901585/.

Rich tributes paid to Kashmiri martyrs

'Pakistan Times' Jammu & Kashmir Desk

SRINAGAR (IHK): In occupied Kashmir, senior APHC leader Shabbir Ahmed Shah and the Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Muhammad Yasin Malik have paid glowing tributes to the Kashmiri martyrs including liberation leaders, Mirwaiz Moulvi Muhammad Farooq and Khawaja Abdul Ghani Lone, reports KMS.

Shabbir Ahmed Shah addressing a function held in Srinagar, today, in connection with the Martyrdom Week reiterated the pledge to continue the mission of Kashmiri martyrs till its logical end.

Muhammad Yasin Malik in a statement issued in Srinagar eulogized the services of Mirwaiz Moulvi Muhammad Farooq and Khawaja Abdul Ghani Lone for the liberation movement. He urged to the JKLF activists to massively participate in the programs announced by the APHC in connection with the Martyrdom Week.

APHC leader, Nayeem Ahmed Khan, addressing a separate function said that people of Kashmir had nourished the ongoing movement with their blood and due to their sacrifices the world had acknowledged Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory.

The General Secretary of Rashtriya Lok Dal and the former member of Indian Parliament, Shahid Siddiqui, in a media interview in Srinagar said, the Kashmiris have offered lots of sacrifices, which should not go waste.

On the other hand, the occupation authorities have placed veteran Kashmiri Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani, under house arrest to prevent him from addressing a public meeting in Islamabad town, tomorrow, in connection with the campaign initiated by his forum for securing release of illegally detained Kashmiris.

Source: Pakistan Times.
Link: http://www.pakistantimes.net/pt/detail.php?newsId=21744.

Kashmir's 'missing girls'

By Arsalan Tariq (AFP) – May 19, 2011

SRINAGAR, India — India's only Muslim-majority state is seizing ultrasound scanners and enlisting religious leaders in an effort to save unborn baby girls from a shocking rise in female foeticide.

The issue has united politicians, clerics and social activists in Jammu and Kashmir, a state best known for the deep, blood-stained divides caused by a 20-year-old Muslim separatist insurgency against Indian rule.

Provisional 2011 census data released at the end of March painted a bleak picture of India's gender imbalance, with a national child sex ratio of just 914 females to 1,000 males, the lowest figure since independence in 1947.

By far the most dramatic decline was in Jammu and Kashmir, where the ratio plunged to 859 girls for every 1,000 boys in the 0-6 age group, down by 82 points from 10 years ago.

"We never expected such a drop," admitted Yashpal Sharma, the Kashmir head of the National Rural Health Mission.

The global sex ratio is 984 girls to every 1,000 boys, according to United Nations population data.

But married women in India face huge pressure to produce male children, who are seen as breadwinners while girls are often viewed as a financial burden as they require hefty dowries to be married off.

The sharpest declines in the ratio were in the towns of the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley, heartland of the armed insurgency against Indian rule that began in 1989.

"It is a matter of shame that Kashmiri Muslims are aborting their girl children," said Kashmir's top cleric, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who heads an alliance of moderate political separatists.

Stressing that the practice was profoundly "un-Islamic" Farooq said everyone in the valley had to be conscripted in the battle against this "moral corruption."

Yasin Malik, head of the pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, was equally forceful in denouncing an "undesirable and unethical trend" which he said was dragging the region back into the Stone Age.

"According to the Koran and traditions of Islam, foeticide is a grave unpardonable sin equivalent to murder. We cannot claim to be Muslims while indulging in this heinous crime," he said.

The first reaction of the Kashmir authorities to the census figures was a crackdown on the unlicensed use of ultrasound scanners.

Determining the sex of a fetus is illegal in India, but many clinics offer the service for a small fee, fueling the demand for sex-selective abortions.

Lightweight, portable ultrasound machines mean tests can be carried out even in the most remote villages.

Sharma said close to 100 scanners had been seized in the initial crackdown, but added that long-term solutions were also needed.

"We are roping in religious and community leaders in our campaign. We have already sent 700 letters to various leaders -- both Muslims and Hindus," Sharma said.

Kashmir's chief minister, Omar Abdullah, promised harsher penalties for anyone aiding or abetting female foeticide.

"It is civil society as a whole, and religious, political and social activists in particular, who have to play their part and make the people aware of this crime," he said.

But Nusrat Nazir, a college lecturer, said efforts to empower women and overcome the social bias towards sons were often undermined by the dowry system, which brought a stark financial factor into the equation.

"These are not issues of governance but ethos, culture and values that our society holds. We have to make efforts to change society, for the better," Nusrat said. "Dowry is a resident evil."

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

Arab League deems Israel retaining the bodies of 'martyrs' a racial crime

Ahmed Eleiba, Thursday 19 May 2011

A seminar was held Thursday in the Arab League headquarters in Cairo on the legal dimensions of Israel retaining the bodies of Arab and Palestinian martyrs and on the fate of missing persons. Palestinian Minister of Justice Ali Khashan took part in the seminar along with Ambassador Mohamed Sabeeh, assistant secretary general for Palestine affairs.

Participants underlined the importance of exerting pressure on Israel to meet its obligations regarding the bodies of martyrs, including facilitating dignified burials in accordance with international humanitarian law, including the First Additional Protocol of the Geneva Conventions which mentions the recovery of the dead and their humane treatment, a protocol Israel has not signed.

Khashan talked in detail about the national campaign on the return the remains of martyrs, reviewing Palestinian efforts on the subject since 2008, while Sabeeh called for an international conference on the legal aspects of dead and missing persons in situations of conflict.

Sabeeh also called for the forming of national committees to follow up on the subject, saying he would meet Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Al-Arabi to discuss the issue.

Khashan said that a committee already following the subject was able to document 317 cases of the retention of the dead bodies of persons killed by the Israeli occupation forces, adding that the issue is not a solely political and legal, but relates to human dignity and must be addressed internationally.

Sabeeh described Israeli practice as a racial crime, and that there exists evidence that Israel intentionally tampers with the bodies, including organ theft. The ambassador called for delegations from regional and international human rights organizations and institutions to visit the occupied Palestinian territories and work towards knowing the fate of scores of missing persons.

For his part, the legal consultant to the secretary general of the Arab League, Mohamed bin Khadraa, voiced his appreciation for the Palestinian justice minister as well as a number of civil institutions in their efforts on the issue, which he considers a war crime and crime against humanity.

Bin Khadraa said that not only did Israel kill people unjustly, but it prevents their kin from burying them according to their religion and in respect of human dignity, calling Israel to immediately stop its practices in this regard.

Included in the seminar was a series of lectures about the legal implications of retaining dead bodies in a situation of conflict, how to legally pursue Israel on the matter, and what the role of the Arab League and other organizations can be.

The seminar ended with the screening of a documentary on the subject in the presence of a large number of legal experts.

Source: Ahram.
Link: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/12503.aspx.

Bahrain foreign minister floats plan to expand Gulf force

May 20, 2011

DUBAI: Bahrain’s foreign minister floated the idea of expanding military bases within a bloc of Sunni-led Gulf Arab allies that helped Manama quash mostly Shiite protests it blamed rival Shiite power Iran for stoking.

Sheikh Khalid al-Khalifa said in an interview with PBS Newshour Wednesday evening that concerns over Iranian interference may push the Gulf Cooperation Council to reshape its Gulf military presence.

“Any threat that any country would face would definitely, no doubt, affect its neighbors. Saudi Arabia is only 28 kilometers away from here. We are looking at the GCC force to be expanded, to have multi-bases everywhere in the GCC,” he told the U.S. television program. “So whether they leave or stay or be restructured, that’s what is to be discussed in the future.”

Bahrain’s Sunni rulers imposed emergency law and called in troops from neighboring countries in March to quash protests led mostly by its Shiite majority demanding reforms.

Sheikh Khalid told Newshour that Bahrain was getting a “daily barrage” of statements from Iran that worried the tiny Gulf island country.

“I can tell you that they have people sympathizing with them here,” he said, adding that not all Shiites were siding with Iran. “There’s definitely an Iranian interest group in Bahrain.”

Meanwhile, a military court Thursday sentenced nine people to 20 years in prison after they were convicted of kidnapping a policeman. One of the men sentenced was a prominent religious cleric and political activist.

International and local rights groups have criticized the government for the severity of its security sweep, in which masked troops manned checkpoints throughout the city and hundreds of people, mostly Shiite activists or politicians, were arrested. At least four detainees have died in custody.

Some 1,000 protesters in a Sunni neighborhood of Manama rallied Wednesday night but several religious clerics urged them to return home.

Some of the demonstrators vowed to gather again after prayers Friday, a day which has taken on great significance since pro-democracy protests began sweeping the Arab region. Protesters have used Friday prayers to mobilize larger crowds.

In his Newshour interview, Sheikh Khalid said that a security presence would still be high after emergency law is lifted despite the removal of tanks and military from the streets.

“There’s no doubt that the police will be on their toes 24/7, because the time just after June 1 … it’s a very delicate period we want to ensure nothing goes wrong and we don’t slide back to chaos.”

Source: The Daily Star.
Link: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/May-20/Bahrain-foreign-minister-floats-plan-to-expand-Gulf-force.ashx.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Bahrain jails 9 for 20 years for policeman kidnap

May 19, 2011

DUBAI — A special security court in Bahrain has sentenced nine people to 20 years in prison each after it convicted them of abducting a policeman, state news agency BNA reported Thursday.

"The Lower National Safety Court sentenced nine defendants accused of kidnapping one policeman to 20 years in prison," according to an English-language statement on BNA that did not give further details.

Among those sentenced was Sheikh Mohammed Habib al-Safaf, a Shiite cleric who had previously been arrested along with 22 other activists and charged with terrorism.

The group was freed under a royal pardon in February after the outbreak of protests calling for democratic reforms in Bahrain.

The court was set up under the state of national safety, a lower level of emergency law declared by King Hamad in mid-March, a day before an all-out crackdown on a month-long, Shiite-dominated protest movement demanding political reforms.

Defendants have the right to appeal the court's rulings within 15 days.

Last month, authorities said that 405 detainees have been referred to national safety courts, of whom 312 had been released.

The National Safety Appeals Court last month sentenced four Shiites to death and three others to jail for life for killing two policemen by running them over with cars during the protests.

Their case has drawn condemnation from Amnesty International, which urged Bahrain to halt the executions.

In a statement released on Thursday, Amnesty also condemned the conviction of a number of other activists it said were sentenced to between one and four years in jail earlier this week.

"These trials and convictions represent yet further evidence of the extent to which the rights to freedom of speech and assembly are now being denied in Bahrain," Malcolm Smart, Amnesty's Middle East and north Africa director, said in the statement.

It also said that leading Bahraini activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja had said in court that he was threatened with rape by police after refusing to record a taped apology to the king.

"The Bahraini authorities must immediately launch an independent investigation into Abdulhadi al-Khawaja's torture allegations and bring to justice any officials responsible for torture or other ill-treatment," Smart said.

Nine policemen were hurt on Tuesday when a car hit them as they were dispersing a protest in a Bahraini Shiite village, BNA state news agency said.

Four of the policemen sustained critical injuries in the attack that took place in Nuwaidrat, south of Manama, said BNA quoting a police official.

Bahraini authorities have said 24 people were killed during the month-long unrest, most of them demonstrators.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

Somaliland president pardons 751 prisoners

Abdi Hajji Hussein
Hargeisa, Somaliland, Somalia
May 19, 2011

“I would like inmates in the detention center of the country to share with us this festival and resume their normal life,” the president said.

As part of a celebration of its declaration of secession from Somalia two decades ago, the Somaliland president Wednesday night announced he had pardoned 751 prisoners.

Ahmed Mohamoud Silanyo, the leader of the self-declared republic, made the announcement a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of independence from Somalia at the capital, Hargeisa.

“I would like inmates in the detention center of the country to share with us this festival and resume their normal life,” the president said.

He urged all prisoners, who will be freed soon, not commit again the crimes that caused them to be jailed.

General Mohamed Hussein Hirane, in charge of Somaliland jails, said that inmates charged with terrorism, piracy, armed robbery, rape and those serving life terms are not part in the president’s pardon.

Hirane added that the pardoned prisoners will be unchained in the days to come, according the president’s decree.

Recent reports said that individuals held on terrorism-related charges had been pardoned by the Somaliland leader.

However, Mohamed Mohamoud Abdillahi, a Somaliland officer, told the BBC Somali Service that the president has ordered the release of two clerics who were convicted for terrorism charges and sentenced to several years of jail after pressure from local elders.

Sheikh Mohamed Sheikh and Isma’il Muse Ali were arrested in 2003 by security forces after they were accused of planting mines near the state house, according to Abdillahi.

All these developments come as Somaliland seeks recognition from world countries and the United Nations.

Source: All Headline News (AHN).
Link: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/90048958?Somaliland%20president%20pardons%20751%20prisoners.

Flotilla group calls for UN escort, a 'stunt' says Israel

Thursday, May 19, 2011
FADIL ALİRIZA
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

As a new aid convoy to Gaza readies to sail at the end of June, organizers say they are willing to have their cargo inspected and their ships escorted by international observers. Israel dismisses the move as a 'publicity stunt,' while supporters of the flotilla in the EU have questioned the legal necessity of such an escort.

Organizers of the Turkish branch of the aid flotilla set to leave for Gaza at the end of June have said they are willing to have their cargo inspected and their ships escorted by international observers.

Israel, however, has dismissed the move as a “publicity stunt,” while supporters of the flotilla in the European Union have questioned the legal necessity of such an escort.

“We are ready to talk with everybody. Already we have started these kinds of visits for the European Parliament, for the United Nations to make some solution,” Hüseyin Oruç, an administrative board member of the Humanitarian Relief Foundation, or İHH, told the Hürriyet Daily News in an interview Tuesday.

“All these boats can be checked by the U.N., or the European Parliament’s commissions. We are ready to show all the details of our preparation,” he said. “They can check [the boats] in the ports, they can check on international waters, they can guide us, they can guide the distribution of all items in Gaza. It’s open to all international mediators.”

An Israeli official dismissed the proposal as a “publicity stunt,” saying that Israel is always willing to accept, process and transmit Gaza-bound aid.

“That obviously won’t happen,” an Israeli official speaking on condition of anonymity told the Daily News. “All the international players, [U.N. chief] Ban Ki-moon, [EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs] Catherine Ashton have all called the move provocative.”

The İHH is organizing the Mavi Marmara and an additional cargo ship as the Turkish part of what will be a 15-boat aid flotilla. On its voyage to Gaza last year, the Mavi Marmara was attacked by Israeli forces who boarded the ship and killed eight Turks and one Turkish-American onboard.

Last week, a group of American congressional representatives sent a letter to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asking him to discourage the flotilla from “provoking a confrontation” with Israel in a bid to “save lives.” The Turkish government’s response so far has been that the letter was incorrectly directed to them, as the flotilla is being organized by civilian, nongovernmental organizations that the government does not control.

The İHH, responding to the letter, echoed the Turkish government response, saying that the group had no contact with the Turkish government, but added that Israel was in fact the party that the U.S. Congress needed to address to avoid another crisis.

“Also we are asking all these congresspeople, if you are looking for the solution, don’t ask the prime minister of Turkey. Why are you not asking the Prime Minister of Israel? They need to talk with [Benjamin] Netanyahu,” Oruç said.

Regarding the possibility of an EU parliamentary commission escorting the flotilla, a spokesman for the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats, the party with the second largest representation in the EU Parliament, said the party has been supportive of the flotilla, but had not seen any proposal regarding a European escort.

“I question the necessity” of an international escort for the ship, said Tony Robinson, head of press and communications for the alliance.

International participation

This year the Mavi Marmara will have 500 people onboard, 400 of whom will be of nationalities other than Turkish, Oruç said. The remaining 100 will be Turks, of whom 50 will be journalists.

“On the first [Mavi Marmara aid trip] there were 38 nationalities; on the second flotilla it will be more coverage. About 100 nationalities will be on the boat. Only a very limited number of Turkish people will be on the Mavi Marmara,” Oruç told the Daily News.

Those on the ship will be mostly from the media and “representatives of societies” and local communities, he said.

The İHH has also sent two aid flotillas to Libya in recent weeks, one to Misrata, besieged by Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s forces, and one to rebel-held Benghazi.

According to Oruç, “all international forces” involved in NATO operations in Libya supported the İHH flotilla to these besieged cities – something he said indicated a double standard imposed on the İHH in its attempt to distribute aid.

“Gaza people have the same right as Misrata people,” Oruç said.

The İHH was scheduled to address members of the media at a press conference Friday morning.

Source: Hürriyet.
Link: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=gaza-flotilla-seeks-un-escort-as-israel-dismisses-move-as-8216stunt8217-2011-05-19.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Turkey marks May 19 holiday today

18 May 2011, Wednesday

Turkey today marks the beginning of the War of Independence on the day Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk landed in Samsun, a symbolic move that led to the foundation of the Turkish Republic from the ashes of Ottoman Empire.

Atatürk Commemoration and Youth and Sports Day in Turkey is expected to be celebrated throughout Turkey, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) and all Turkish foreign representative offices.

Turkish President Abdullah Gül and other party leaders, who are in Ankara, officials are expected to visit Anıtkabir first, the mausoleum of Atatürk, in capital Ankara.

On May 19, 1919, Atatürk, who would become modern Turkey's first president, landed on the main peninsula of Turkey to begin leadership of the liberation effort. In early 1920, Atatürk convened the first Turkish Grand National Assembly (Parliament) in Ankara, and by 1922 all of Anatolia was freed from foreign rule.

The independent Republic of Turkey was declared a year later.

During the course of his term as president, Atatürk himself proclaimed May 19 "Youth & Sports Day." In the aftermath of Atatürk's monumental legacy, the day serves to honor the country's founder as well.

Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu released a statement on Wednesday and congratulated people on the occasion of the holiday.

Ministers and government officials will participate in May 19 celebrations in May 19 Atatürk Stadium in Ankara and Türk Telekom Stadium in İstanbul.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a statement released on Wednesday that May 19, 1919 is a very important day for national memory and that the prosperous future of independent Turkey now belongs to youth. For this reason, Erdoğan said, Turkish government considers that investing in youth means investing in the future of the country.

Several ministers, deputies, party leaders and other officials also released the holiday statements, calling youth and people to better perceive the underlying meaning of the day.

Source: Today's Zaman.
Link: http://www.todayszaman.com/news-244406-turkey-marks-may-19-holiday-today.html.

UNRWA union strikes in Gaza, says 3 dismissed unfairly

Wednesday 18/05/2011

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Palestinians working for the UN refugee agency in Gaza announced a comprehensive strike for Wednesday, over the dismissal of three employees union officials say were wrongfully let go.

The strike will last all day Wednesday through Thursday, and see all of UNRWA's unessential services, like schools, clinics, and administration offices close. Nearly 11,500 workers will walk out of their jobs, effecting 238 schools and 25 clinics.

According to head of the workers union Salim Al-Hindi, three men were dismissed from their jobs because they had at some point come under investigation by local Gaza security forces. The three were all found not guilty but according to the official were fired anyway.

Details of the cases were given as follows:

K.H.W., a teacher, had "problems between him and his cousins," was investigated by local police and found innocent

A.A., a worker in environment health who was arrested by government security forces after being charged with involvement in the Rafah mosque take-over in 2009, when a Salafist group declared the city an Islamic emirate, an incident that ended in a mass gunfight leaving 22 dead. AA, however, was questioned and released without charge.

A.A., an employee in the services department, he was arrested along with two friends; all were charged with possession of prohibited drugs. The worker was interrogated by local security departments who released him without charge, but detained his two friends.

Al-Hindi called the dismissals "arbitrary," and was effectively an "execution of the workers and their families," who would have no other source of income.

"There must be respect for dignity," the official said, asking that the men be returned immediately to their post.

UNRWA spokesman in Jerusalem Chist Gunnes said "The staff members were dismissed following an inquiry and subsequent review, and under new internal justice procedures agreed between UNRWA and the unions they have the right to appeal."

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=388783.

Some British troops to leave Afghanistan

LONDON, May 18 (UPI) -- Prime Minister David Cameron says a small British withdrawal from Afghanistan will take place this year.

Cameron told the House of Commons Tuesday, "There will be around 400 troops, perhaps slightly more, coming out of Afghanistan in the coming year," The Sun reported.

But, he added, "Our enduring force level remains at 9,500. I'm sure the Americans understand that it's less than the reductions they are planning."

U.S. President Barack Obama visits Britain next week, and Cameron has pledged to coordinate Afghan policy with him.

The Defense Ministry said most of the troops will come from the Royal Air Force regiment defending Kandahar airfield and the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps at NATO headquarters in Kabul.

A spokesman said, "These were time-limited, task-specific roles which have now come to an end."

Col. Stuart Tootal, a former paratroop commander, was not pleased.

"We should only get out when the job is done properly," he told The Sun. "We are on the right track, but if we take our foot off the gas now, we risk all the success and investment we have achieved so far."

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/05/18/Some-British-troops-to-leave-Afghanistan/UPI-50971305737856/.

DR Congo calls on UN to withdraw peacekeepers

May 18, 2011

UNITED NATIONS — Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday made a new call for UN peacekeepers to withdraw, despite warnings from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that armed groups remain a significant threat there.

DR Congo's international cooperation minister Raymond Tshibanda told the UN Security Council that his government want an "orderly, progressive withdrawal" of UN troops from the giant central African country, where millions are said to have died in conflict in the past two decades.

The resource-rich country is to hold a key presidential election in November, amid fears of unrest.

Tshibanda told a Security Council debate that DR Congo and UN troops were now tackling "the last pockets of resistance from the remaining armed elements" and these are "in a few isolated zones."

"Add to this the normalization of relations with neighboring countries, we can legitimately say that we are out of the phase of reestablishing and maintaining peace," he said.

The minister said the UN mission in DR Congo, MONUSCO, should now concentrate on consolidating peace and reinforcing democracy.

MONUSCO currently has about 20,000 troops and police in the country making it one of the UN's biggest peacekeeping operations.

"The time has come to broach together a phase of transition which will lead to the restructuring of MONUSCO and its mandate with the view to an orderly, progressive withdrawal, without delays, of its military component," he said.

Tshibanda added that President Joseph Kabila's government wants to do nothing to "undermine" the improved security climate.

"We must now ensure that the mandate is adapted to meet the new needs present on the ground," he told the 15-nation council.

"We only ask that we, as responsible adults, be able to shoulder the prerogatives that are part of our regained sovereignty."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon did not comment on the withdrawal of MONUSCO forces in his speech to the debate.

But he said that despite military efforts, "foreign and Congolese armed groups continue to pose significant threats. The humanitarian situation remains serious with 1.7 million displaced."

He added that "murders, sexual violence and the looting and burning of villages continue to have large-scale humanitarian consequences."

Ban said that the November 28 presidential and legislative elections "must be timely, transparent, credible, peaceful and secure."

"We must do our utmost to ensure that violence does not break out before, during or after the elections. We have invested much and there is much to lose," he told the Security Council.

The Council said in a statement that security has improved in DR Congo but highlighted the threat from armed groups in the eastern provinces of Nord and Sud Kivu.

It reaffirmed "deep concern about the persistent high levels of violence, especially sexual violence and human rights abuses against civilians."

A recent study published in the American Journal of Public Health estimates that there are more than 1,100 rapes each day in DR Congo.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

2012 Olympic Torch relay dates announced

LONDON, May 18 (UPI) -- Olympic organizers in London said the Olympic Torch will arrive in the United Kingdom next May 18 to begin a 70-day relay to the start of the 2012 Games.

Officials said Wednesday the Olympic Torch relay will cover an estimated 8,000 miles around the United Kingdom. They also said the search has begun for "8,000 inspirational people" to participate in the relay.

The relay is to begin at Land's End in Cornwall on May 19, 2012, and conclude at the Summer Olympic opening ceremonies July 27, 2012, in London. The first 74 locations for the relay were announced Wednesday with additional sites to be determined.

"The Olympic Flame will shine a light right across every nation and region of the U.K. and showcase the very best of who we are and where we live," London organizing committee Chairman Sebastian Coe said in a release.

"The first locations on the route confirmed today give a flavor of the reach the Olympic Torch Relay will have around the U.K. and how extensive the opportunity for starting to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic Games will be."

Organizers said 2,012 torchbearers will be determined through a public nomination program, which they detail on the London 2012 Web site. Also included will be students participating in the Get Set Network program and "role models and outstanding members of the public" as chosen by the organizing committee.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Sports_News/2011/05/18/2012-Olympic-Torch-relay-dates-announced/UPI-44881305719108/.

Wind power has potential in Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 18 (UPI) -- Michigan utility company Consumers Energy said it was expanding a program for solar energy but noted wind may be the best way forward in the state.

Consumers Energy said it was doubling the amount of solar power it would purchase from its customers under a state plan that requires utility companies to get 10 percent of their energy from renewable resources by 2015.

Dan Bishop, a spokesman for the company, told Michigan Public Radio that solar power was making gains in the state but wind energy was more attractive.

"Our analysis is that wind is the most economic way to meet this standard and serve our customers in the best way," he told the broadcaster.

DTE Energy, one of the other state utility companies, announced a decision last month to build three wind farms in Michigan.

The utility company said it acquired easements on 80,000 acres of land in the eastern part of the state for the wind farms and associated infrastructure. It also completed studies examining the wind regime and potential impact on the wildlife at the sites.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/05/18/Wind-power-has-potential-in-Michigan/UPI-34921305723644/.

Iran: Bushehr nuclear plant operational

TEHRAN, May 18 (UPI) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has announced the "successful" start-up of the Bushehr nuclear plant, saying it has reached the critical phase.

"As we have previously announced, Bushehr power plant has reached the critical stage. It has been successfully launched," the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Salehi saying.

"(The) Bushehr nuclear facility is one of the safest ones in the world. It has entered the critical phase and in other words it has been started up," the Iranian Student News Agency quoted Salehi as saying.

Addressing the Economic Cooperation Organization in Tehran Tuesday, Salehi said the critical stage when the fissile material is self-sustaining should occur "within the next two months," the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

"This stage lasts for two months. We hope the plant will gain some 40 percent of its power within the next one or two months," Press TV quoted him saying.

Olga Tysleva, a spokesperson for the Russian Atomstroyexport company, which built the plant, said Friday the fuel loading of the reactor at the plant is complete and the reactor is functioning at "the minimum controllable level of power," Press TV said.

In September 2010 Iran disclosed a malicious computer virus called Stuxnet had attacked high-value industrial sites but refused to acknowledge it caused delays at the Bushehr nuclear plant.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/05/18/Iran-Bushehr-nuclear-plant-operational/UPI-39011305717766/.

Rodent seen for first time in 113 years

SANTA MARTA, Colombia, May 18 (UPI) -- A mysterious South American rodent, not seen since 1898 despite many searches, appeared at the front door of a nature reserve in Colombia, researchers said.

The red-crested tree rat, Santamartamys rufodorsalis, stayed at the reserve for almost 2 hours while two researchers snapped pictures of a creature scientists thought might never be seen again, a release from the American Bird Conservancy said Wednesday.

The nocturnal rodent revealed itself to the world on May 4 at the El Dorado Nature Reserve in the far north of Colombia.

The animal was rediscovered by Lizzie Noble and Simon McKeown, two volunteer researchers at the reserve monitoring endangered amphibians.

It posed for photographs, including close-ups, before calmly ambling back into the forest, they said.

"He just shuffled up the handrail near where we were sitting and seemed totally unperturbed by all the excitement he was causing," Noble, from Godalming, England, said.

"We are absolutely delighted to have rediscovered such a wonderful creature after just a month of volunteering," she said.

"Clearly the El Dorado Reserve has many more exciting discoveries waiting."

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/05/18/Rodent-seen-for-first-time-in-113-years/UPI-73681305691260/.

Baby named after Facebook Like button

JERUSALEM, May 18 (UPI) -- An Israeli couple said they were inspired by the "Like" button on Facebook when they named their daughter Like.

Lior and Vardit Adler told Israeli news site Galgalatz they felt the name was "modern and innovative," PC World reported Tuesday.

"In our opinion, it's the modern equivalent of the name Ahava (Love)," Lior Adler said, "It's just my way of saying to my fantastic daughter, 'love.'"

The couple's previous two daughters are named Pie and Vash, the Hebrew word for "Honey."

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2011/05/18/Baby-named-after-Facebook-Like-button/UPI-92221305703800/.

Egypt to hang 17-year-old youth

CAIRO, May 18 (UPI) -- A local rights group criticized a decision by Egypt's Supreme Military Council to execute a 17-year-old youth and three others for kidnapping a young woman.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights is pushing for the military to reconsider the sentence handed down to the four convicted of kidnapping and assaulting a young woman, and called for immediate action, Bikya Masr.com reported Wednesday.

"The death sentence issued against the minor (identified only as) A.M.M. ... illustrates the ignorance of the military judiciary in civil and criminal law alike," Adel Ramadan, a legal officer at the organization said.

The Egyptian Child Law, the Code of Military Justice and international law state the death penalty cannot be applied to those under 18, the Web site said.

"The sentence contravenes Article 8 of the Code of Military Justice, which states that no minor may be tried before a military court unless a partner in the crime falls under the jurisdiction of the Code of Military Justice as defined in Article 4 of the same law. This condition does not apply in the current case as all the defendants are civilians," the Web site reported.

"The danger is even greater when the military judiciary, with its susceptibility to errors, begins determining whether a person is deserving of life. This is starkly clear in the case of A.M.M., whose life, dreams and ambitions may be abruptly ended at the age of 17, and thus demands that we reconsider the case," Ramadan said.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/05/18/Egypt-to-hang-17-year-old-youth/UPI-14111305720985/.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Social media creating social awareness in the Arab world

by Hani Naim
17 May 2011

Beirut - Social media has brought various religious and ethnic groups across the world closer together. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Arab world, as demonstrated by the recent protests. Activists in this part of the world maintain that their motives are not sectarian. Indeed, the protests themselves show people of different backgrounds coming together for a common cause: change.

In Manama, a campaign for political change launched on blogs and on Facebook proclaimed: "No Sunni, No Shi'ite. Only Bahraini." In Syria, protesters are rejecting sectarian strife and focusing on oneness, shouting: "Not Kurdish, Not Arab. We Want National Unity." This is in addition to an online campaign started by activists with the slogan: "Are you Muslim or Christian? I am Syrian", which grew to nearly 9,000 members. And then there is the Facebook launch of a Syrian code of honor, condemning all forms of discrimination against fellow citizens, with around 5,000 members.

Many Arab regimes banned the creation of political parties, and limited the right to associate or create civil rights groups. This meant that there was little space where religious, ethnic and cultural groups could meet and interact. Some of the ruling regimes also marginalized and oppressed religious and ethnic minorities – from the oppression of the Amazigh in North African countries by prohibiting them from speaking their native language or giving traditional Amazigh names to their children, to banning Christians from rebuilding their churches, or depriving Kurds of their nationality, as well as other measures.

But social media has helped such groups discover one another, and break the psychological barrier of fear between them, which some regimes had constructed. Social media is a “first step” toward engagement with what the regimes qualified as “the other”. After all, it is easier to begin a conversation with someone with a different background sitting behind a computer screen.

It is also a step toward taking this change to broader society.

In Lebanon too, online groups that oppose sectarianism and discrimination in society have appeared, creating a space that has brought people from various sects and regions closer together.

As the protests spread across the Arab world, activists in Lebanon began to unite with the goal of "ousting the sectarian system." These activists managed to reach around 15,000 people through a Facebook group entitled, "In favor of ousting the Lebanese sectarian system – towards a secular system." The group is comprised of youth from different sects, regions and cultural backgrounds. On the group’s Facebook page, activists engage in extensive discussions about the existing system and about the system they long for. The leaders of this group have even organized many public demonstrations, including one that numbered 21,000 people, all demanding the end of the sectarian system in Lebanon.

Social media is fast proving to be a tool that creates awareness of a particular issue amongst large numbers of people. A few clicks, and you can spread the world with your message and galvanize like-minded individuals to interact and engage in a common cause.

In the past five years, many such causes have surfaced, brought on by multi-religious, cultural and political groups. For instance, proponents of gay rights, through their online presence, were able to create more awareness of their plight in Lebanon.

This movement attracted support from many youth across religions, sects and regions, with the aim of removing Article 534 from the Lebanese Penal Code, which identifies homosexuals as criminals, and granting a person the right to choose his or her sexual orientation. The online presence of this movement and the success of its outreach demonstrate how social media can provide youth of different backgrounds a platform to engage in fruitful interaction for a common cause.

Another example of social media’s ability to bring people together is the Lebanese Women's Right to Nationality and Full Citizenship, a cause that brought together over 20,000 members on Facebook to support all Lebanese women’s right to pass on their nationality to their children. People from all religions were able to meet online and discover that those of different faiths can and do think just like they do.

This kind of activity reinforces a sense of social cohesion and helps people focus on what they have in common, despite differences in their backgrounds. It has also proven to be an effective tool in the hands of people relegated to society’s margins, who are now able to voice their concerns and gather support from all segments across the country.

Source: Common Ground.
Link: http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?id=29759&lan=en&sp=0.

Christians, Muslims and solidarity: the Egyptian challenge

by H.A. Hellyer
17 May 2011

Cairo - The recent burning of two churches in Cairo’s Imbaba district reminded me of New Year’s Eve this year, when I was in Cairo. At the time, I heard about the bombing of the church in Alexandria, and I saw the outrage that took place on the streets of Cairo – and the solidarity it resulted in, with Muslim men and women standing guard outside of churches on 7 January, when Copts celebrated Christmas.

That solidarity between Muslims and Christians in Egypt was not short-lived, but a deeply felt, rooted expression. Anyone who had been in Tahrir Square during the uprising knows that – and anyone who had been outside the attacked churches during the uprising knows that too.

No one was outside attacked churches during the uprising – because no churches were attacked. At a time when there was complete lawlessness on the streets, as the regime pulled off the police forces, churches were safe. Had there been such a violent sentiment against Christians in Egypt, that would have been the time to pounce.

In the weeks after the uprising, the former interior minister was officially the subject of an investigation into that New Year’s Eve bombing. The accusation prompting the inquiry was that his ministry was responsible for the bombing in order to shore up support for the regime. The investigation continues, although in the court of public opinion (if not in the judiciary system), the verdict was fairly clear. There’s a positive aspect to that – the anti-sectarian mood was clearly what Egyptians were feeling.

I sincerely hoped that would be the way things would continue indefinitely. In recent days, however, it’s been clear that will not be Egypt’s future – at least not for the short or medium term. The two churches burned in Imbaba have raised the specter of continued religiously based sectarian violence.

When it comes to religion and the public sphere, the Muslim Brotherhood is probably the most influential group in Egypt in terms of bringing religion into it for political ends. Egyptians know that the Muslim Brotherhood sincerely and publicly denounced the bombing in Imbaba. Yet, Egyptians also know that the Muslim Brotherhood did not descend on Imbaba to work directly on calming sectarian tensions. Perhaps in the future, it might intervene more through the masses it can bring out. It certainly would build trust in wider society for the movement. It’s never had to play this kind of bridge-builder role before – but Egypt now requires that it do so.

Indeed, Egypt requires all Egyptians do so. While the Muslim community needs to take a hard look at what it may or may not do in order to build trust, the Christian community would probably benefit from reconsidering some of the stances that a minority within it has taken, particularly vis-à-vis the indigenous nature of the Muslim community as well as American intervention to solve the sectarian issue. There have been inflammatory statements and acts of violence emanating from both Muslims and Christians, which will also need to be discussed in safe environments in the future – not for the purpose of playing the ”blame game”, but to establish the facts against a backdrop in which an overwhelming majority of Egyptians oppose sectarianism and want a future where all citizens can feel they are of Egypt, and not some sort of foreign or alien element.

At the moment, there are many in Egypt suspecting that this is not the case for some Muslims and some Christians – and that suspicion has to be put to rest, for once and for all. A new Egypt deserves, requires and demands no less.

The unity of Egyptians is far stronger than the forces of division – and the sense of Egyptian patriotism is more mainstream than the sense of Egyptian sectarianism.

Egyptians can drain the swamp – and they can remove the fuel for divisive forces to use. Tahrir Square, Egyptians were reminded time and time again, brought out the best of what it meant to be an Egyptian. Now all Egyptians must find the best within themselves, and together they must confront the worst – and defeat it.

Source: Common Ground.
Link: http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?id=29755&lan=en&sp=0.

Syrian activists call general strike in new tactic

By ZEINA KARAM | AP
May 18, 2011

BEIRUT: Syrian protesters have called for a one-day nationwide general strike, urging students to skip school and workers to bring commerce to a halt in a new strategy of defiance against government crackdowns that appear to be turning more brutal and bloody.

The strike, planned for Wednesday, marks a shift by opposition forces to strike at President Bashar Assad’s regime from new angles: its economic underpinnings and ability to keep the country running during two months of widening battles.

A sweeping popular acceptance of the strike call would be an embarrassing blow to Assad and show support for the uprising in places, such as central Damascus, where significant protests have yet to take hold and security forces have choked off the few that have taken place.

“It will be a day of punishment for the regime from the free revolutionaries ... Massive protests, no schools, no universities, no stores or restaurants and even no taxis.

Nothing,” said a statement posted on the main Facebook page of the Syrian Revolution 2011.

The strike call came as the United States and European Union planned new sanctions against the Syrian leadership.

In Washington, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told reporters that the tighter measures could be imposed in the coming days.

Meanwhile, watchdog groups and Syrians fleeing into neighboring Lebanon added to the accounts of violence.

A Syrian rights activist, Mustafa Osso, said government agents chased and beat students taking part in a protest against Assad’s regime at a university in Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest largest city. Security officials in Lebanon said at least 170 people entered the country Tuesday, including a 2-year-old girl with a shrapnel wound in her chest.

Syrians pouring over the Lebanon border in recent days have described horrific scenes of execution-style slayings and bodies in the streets in the western town of Talkalakh, which has been reportedly encircled by security forces.

Osso, head of the Kurdish Organization for the Defense of Human Rights and Public Freedoms in Syria, said there were reports of gunfire in Talkalakh on Tuesday, but it was not clear whether there were injuries.

At least 16 people — eight of them members of the same family — have been killed in recent days in Talkalakh, a town of about 70,000 residents, witnesses and activists said.

Syria’s official news agency said eight soldiers and policemen were killed Tuesday and five others were wounded while pursuing fugitives in Talkalakh and nearby areas. The report said security forces arrested several fugitives and confiscated a large amount of weapons.

Syria’s top rights organization has said that the crackdown by Assad has killed more than 850 people since protests erupted in mid-March in the most serious threat to his family’s 40-year dynasty. Thousands of others have been detained.

A pro-democracy activist in the central city of Homs expressed support for the nationwide strike, calling it “the only way to hurt the regime without putting people’s lives at risk.” But the activist, speaking by phone to The Associated Press, doubted the response would be big.

“The majority of businessmen and merchants are either supportive of the regime or fear for the businesses. They have too much to lose,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Anthony Skinner, an analyst at Maplecroft, a British-based risk analysis company, said he expected the current conflict to become even more protracted and bloody.

“Although the crackdown has failed to snuff out dissent, protests have also not gained sufficient momentum to overextend the armed forces,” he said.

On Tuesday, the National Organization for Human Rights said in a statement that at least 41 people were killed in the past five days in the villages of Inkhil and Jassem near the southern city of Daraa, where the rebellion took root.

Ammar Qurabi, the head of the human rights organization, also said a “mass grave” with 24 bodies, and another containing seven bodies including a father and his four sons, were discovered in Daraa on Monday. Calls to Daraa on Tuesday seeking to verify the reports were unsuccessful.

International rights watchdog Amnesty International urged Syrian authorities to carry out a prompt, impartial investigation into reports of the graves.

“If true, these reports of multiple corpses buried in a makeshift grave show an appalling disregard for humanity,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa director.

A Syrian Interior Ministry official dismissed the reports about a mass grave in Daraa as “completely baseless.” The unnamed official, quoted by state-run news agency SANA, said Tuesday that the “allegations came in the context of the campaign of provocation, slander and fabrication” against Syria.

The official said an “armed terrorist group” opened fire on a police vehicle near Homs, killing two policemen and wounding four others, including an army officer.

Assad has blamed the unrest on armed thugs and foreign agitators. He also has played on fears of sectarian strife to persuade people not to demonstrate, saying chaos would result.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article411728.ece.

Turkish government officials snub Israeli Independence Day reception

16 May 2011, Monday

The Israeli Embassy celebrated the 63rd anniversary of the Jewish state's independence on Monday in Ankara, but not a single Turkish government official showed up for the event.

Former Foreign Trade Minister Kürşad Tüzmen, former Energy and Natural Resources Minister Hilmi Güler, Higher Education Board (YÖK) President Yusuf Ziya Özcan, former Judges and Prosecutors Association (YARSAV) President Ömer Faruk Eminağaoğlu and US Ambassador to Turkey Francis J. Ricciardone participated in the reception, hosted by Israeli Ambassador to Turkey Gaby Levy on Monday.

Asked by reporters about participation from the Turkish government, Levy said the embassy had extended invitations to government officials but that it is up to them to accept or decline.

The Israeli diplomat said this is a reflection of the relations between the two countries. “But there is a good saying in Turkish: God willing it will be better,” Levy said.

Source: Today's Zaman.
Link: http://www.todayszaman.com/news-244176-turkish-government-officials-snub-israeli-independence-day-reception.html.

Jordan opposition skeptical over Jordan's admission to GCC

By ABDUL JALIL MUSTAFA | ARAB NEWS
May 18, 2011

AMMAN: A coalition of Jordanian opposition parties on Tuesday warned against the "political and security implications” of the decision by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders to admit Jordan into the oil-rich Arab bloc.

The Higher Coordination Committee of the Opposition Parties held an emergency meeting to discuss the offer in detail on Tuesday and cautioned that the move could lead to the normalization of ties between the GCC countries and Israel.

"The committee welcomes any step that boosts the joint Arab action in general, but the ongoing political developments in the region and the reported proposals for resolving the Arab-Zionist conflict stir concerns over the objectives” of Jordan’s admission to the GCC,” the panel said in a statement.

"Therefore, we warn against the political and security backgrounds of this step which sparks suspicion that it could facilitate the process of normalization with the Zionist enemy, which has been an objective the United States sought to achieve for a long time through putting pressure on Arab countries, particularly the GCC states,” it added.

The committee, which comprises the Islamic Action Front (IAF) and six other Pan-Arab and left-leaning political parties, also cast doubt on the possibility of improving the living standard of the Jordanian people as a result of Jordan’s accession to the 30-year-old alliance.

GCC leaders, who met in Riyadh last week, welcomed the admission of the two pro-West Arab monarchies of Jordan and Morocco to the bloc and invited their foreign ministers to open talks with their counterparts in the GCC with a view to working out the details of the process.

If Jordan joins the GCC, it will be the only Arab state in the expanded entity that maintains official diplomatic ties with Israel.

Jordanian press and analysts have also warned that such a step could jeopardize the country’s fledgling political reform and involve security risks and possible enmity with Iran.

Jordan’s joining of the GCC is expected have figured largely in King Abdallah’s talks with US President Barack Obama at the White House Tuesday.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article410658.ece.

Iranian Jews stand by Palestinians

Tue May 17, 2011

Iranian Jews have declared their support for Palestinians and condemned the Israeli military for killing Palestinian demonstrators on Nakba Day.

In a statement issued on Monday, the representative of the Jewish community in the Iranian Parliament (Majlis), MP Siamak Mare Sedq, condemned the killings and expressed sympathy with the oppressed people of Palestine, saying more efforts should be made to help the Palestinians regain their rights, the Mehr news agency reported.

On Sunday, Israeli troops launched attacks on rallies and marches held in Palestine and bordering countries to protest against the establishment of Israel 63 years ago, killing dozens of people.

Demonstrators gathered in cities across the Middle East to remember the May 15, 1948 occupation of Palestine, known as Nakba Day, which means Day of the Catastrophe in Arabic.

In the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military killed two protesters, including a Palestinian teenager, and injured at least 65 others, a Press TV correspondent reported.

A journalist suffered a critical injury from Israeli fire in the northern city of Beit Hanoun.

One person was killed and at least 150 hurt in the village of Qalandiya near the city of Ramallah in the central West Bank.

Two other Palestinians were killed and scores were injured by Israeli troops in other parts of the West Bank.

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh urged Palestinians to continue the resistance against Israel and expressed hope that the Palestinians would one day return to their homeland.

In Syria's Golan Heights, at least 12 protesters were killed and 30 wounded by Israeli military fire.

Israeli forces also fired into Lebanon, killing six protesters and injuring 71 others, 13 of them seriously.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/180287.html.

Iranian lawmakers file lawsuit against president: report

TEHRAN, May 17 (Xinhua) -- A senior member of the Iranian Majlis (Parliament) said a number of lawmakers have filed a lawsuit against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration for violating the constitution, the English language satellite Press TV reported Tuesday.

On February 28, a number of legislators filed suit against the government with the Majlis Presiding Board for the government's refraining from implementing the Iranian Constitution, lawmaker Fazel Moussavi was quoted as saying.

Majlis Presiding Board referred the lawsuit to the Article 90 Commission of the Majlis which was assigned with probing into the case and determine whether the lawsuit is valid or not. It should next send a letter to the Majlis Presiding Board to announce the result. The Presiding Board will then present a report to the Majlis, said the report.

The Article 90 Commission which is established in the Iranian parliament to pursue issues around the Article 90 of Iranian Constitution, deals with the complaints against Iran's government, parliament or judiciary performance. The Article 90 Commission studies the written complaints presented to them and announces the findings.

If the Majlis validates the report about the president or each of the cabinet ministers in three separate times, the impeachment motion will be put on the Majlis agenda based on the Article 89 of the Constitution, added Press TV.

Moussavi said that 12 lawmakers have signed the lawsuit against the government for some 50 cases of Constitution violation, according to the report.

Source: Xinhua.
Link: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-05/17/c_13879598.htm.

Former Iranian leader wants reconciliation

TEHRAN, May 17 (UPI) -- There is a toxic atmosphere in Iran that must be overcome through the spirit of reconciliation, former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said.

Iranian opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi are under house arrest. Both were detained shortly after making requests early this year to have public demonstrations. Mousavi was the top challenger to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose re-election in 2009 sparked violent protests in Iran.

Some Iranian lawmakers accused Karroubi and Mousavi of treason and called for their execution.

Khatami in a speech to veterans of the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s advocated a spirit of reconciliation in the country, reports Radio Zamaneh, a Persian broadcaster in the Netherlands.

"If there has been any wrongdoing, let us all forgive each other and look toward the future," he was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad is facing internal backlash over apparent disagreements with the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

An Iranian newspaper last week said Khamenei called on the president to step aside over a series of spats over presidential allies, Bloomberg News reports. The president's office issued a statement saying "this news is wrong."

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/05/17/Former-Iranian-leader-wants-reconciliation/UPI-20771305655443/.

The Jordanian street and the pro-democracy protests

WARNING: Article contains propaganda!

* * * * *

By RAY HANANIA
05/17/2011

Yalla Peace: True democracy will not come to the Hashemite Kingdom before a Palestinian state is created.

As citizens across the Arab world have risen in protest against decades of dictatorship in Libya, Egypt, Tunisia and Syria, one might ask why the same hasn’t happened in Jordan?

In all the other countries, the protests seem to share a major characteristic. The governments reflect an element of the population’s religious or tribal minorities, while the protesters have been left out of power. Libya’s troubles are more tribal, Syria’s are more tribal and religious, and Egypt’s troubles are a combination of religious and secular rivalries.

In Libya, dictator Col. Muammar Gaddafi comes from one of the country’s 140 tribes. The war in Libya is a civil war, fueled in large part by the interference of Western powers, including NATO and the US.

The NATO-American alliance was not hesitant to arm and protect the protesters in Libya, while the same Western powers sat back and watched as Egypt’s dictator Hosni Mubarak was slowly pushed from power.

Egypt’s future remains uncertain. It’s a nation made up of several power bases, the largest including secular Muslims, Orthodox Coptic Christians and religious Muslims under the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood was not behind the protests there, and neither were the Coptic Christians. But once Mubarak was removed from office and a military junta took control, the divisions were quickly highlighted by friction. Today, the Coptic Christians are under siege, and their future in Egypt remains uncertain.

In Syria, the ruling regime is controlled by the Alawis or Alawites, a mystical minority branch of Islam that is closer to the Shi’ites than to the Sunnis. Sunni Muslims are the more dominant in the Arab world. The Shi’ites in the region are predominantly Persian, and closer to Iran.

The majority of the Syrian population are Sunnis, although there is a substantial Christian community there too.

But the religious sects are more tribal in Syria, making Bashar Assad and his Alawite minority which control the government an easier target. Bashar’s father, Hafez Assad took control of Syria in a coup in 1970, following rising protests from the Alawite community against the Sunni Muslim and Christian governments.

Jordan is unlike any of the others. The Jordanian people are mainly Beduin Arabs. Jordan was created from the Fertile Crescent lands of Syria and Palestine, occupied by the Allies after World War I. Palestine was divided into two areas, Trans-Jordan to the East of the river and Palestine to the West. This was based on the British decision to limit Jewish migration to Palestine.

The 1948 war pushed more than 750,000 Palestinian refugees into Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Gaza came under Egyptian control, and the West Bank came under Jordanian control.

The 1967 war pushed more Palestinians, including 1948 refugees, into Jordan. Today, it has about two million Palestinians. Most have become Jordanian citizens, with only 167,000 remaining in refugee camps. That explains Jordan’s dilemma.

The relationship between the Jordanian and Palestinian Arabs has always been tenuous.

While the rest of the Arab world opposed the partition of Palestine, Jordan’s King Abdullah I favored it. In fact, King Abdullah had grand visions of a Greater Arabia to include Iraq, Palestine and Syria (where his brother Faisal had once served as king, but was ousted by the French). Faisal later became king of Iraq.

King Abdullah I was assassinated by a Palestinian when he visited the al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem in 1951.

The Jordanian-Palestinian populations live in a forced political detente in Jordan. Jordanian Arabs are deathly loyal to the monarchy. The vast majority will not rebel against King Abdullah II, fearing that the country will come under Palestinian control.

Jordan’s monarchs have also been more Western, and have allowed a greater sense of democracy to exist, even though the government is controlled by the king himself and ruled by a parliament subject to the king’s whims.

There have been some protests, but they are inhibited by this population balance. And Jordan’s king has the strongest Western backing of any Arab regime. True democracy will not come to a significant part of Jordan’s population, at least not before a Palestinian state is created, and with those Palestinians in Jordan given the choice to live there.

That’s why there are no pro-democracy protests in Jordan.

Source: The Jerusalem Post.
Link: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=221026.

Libya: Algeria provided Gaddafi with 500 military grade vehicles

- Rabih Serrai
Tuesday, 17 May 2011

Global Arab Network - Algeria has delivered 500 pickups to Colonel Maamar Gaddafi's regime, Africa News Agency (ANA) reported, citing diplomatic sources and Libyan opposition members.

"The Algerian military has already been supporting Gaddafi's regime by sending Polisario guerrillas to join Gaddafi’s mercenary forces,” ANA said on its website.

This information was confirmed by NATO and a former Libyan minister and Libyan opposition leaders in Benghazi who captured some mercenaries among them elements of the separatist group, the same source added.

Morocco Board News reported that the Libyan embassy in Algiers has purchased 500 military grade vehicles from several dealers and shipped them to the pro-Gaddafi loyalist forces. Such large purchase of military grade vehicles by an embassy, of a neighboring country at war, can not go forward unless it has a tacit support from Algeria's government..

The Algerian opposition had accused Algeria's government of supporting Gaddafi by, among others, facilitating the supply of military hardware to the Gaddafi regime through the Algerian-Libyan border. "We have information about the entry to Libya of military hardware through the Algerian border" announced an official of the Libyan Rebels Group CNT.

The Libyan ambassador in Algiers is one of the few to remain loyal to the Gaddafi regime .

The Algerian newspaper (Ashorouk) said that a central committee member of the FLN, Algeria's ruling party, attended a pro-Gaddafi conference in Tripoli; where he made a speech attacking the rebels' National Transitional Council and accusing it of being "a pawn of the West."

Abdelaziz Belkhadem, Algeria's President representative, has harshly criticized the Libyan rebel group, the National Transitional Council, for their accusations that Algeria is helping to send mercenaries to Colonel Gaddafi.

Algeria’s officials always denied all these accusations and considered it as a false information.

Source: Global Arab Network.
Link: http://www.english.globalarabnetwork.com/2011051710937/Algeria-Politics/libya-algeria-provided-gaddafi-with-500-military-grade-vehicles.html.

'Disi water uncontaminated'

By Abeer Numan

AMMAN - The water of the Disi basin is not polluted and is potable, Jordanian Geologists Association President Bahjat Al Adwan said on Tuesday, dismissing a report on a news website claiming otherwise.

Adwan, speaking to The Jordan Times over the phone, denied claims that the basin water is radioactively contaminated.

Adwan said the water does have radon, but the gas disappears as soon as the water is pumped from the underground and reaches the surface.

“As soon as the water is pumped out, a chemical reaction occurs between the air and the gas, causing it to fade away,” said Adwan, adding that water is safe for human consumption and that such reports are damaging.

Any deep-seated underground water has some sort of radioactivity, said Elias Salameh, a University of Jordan professor of hydrogeology and hydrochemistry.

Once the water is pumped out, it is checked for radioactivity, he said, noting that if any high concentration is found, the water is treated.

University of Jordan mineralogy Professor Hani Khouri confirmed that the water is uncontaminated and that radioactivity is a natural occurrence.

“In the case of any remaining radiation, it is easily removed through aeration and filtration processes,” Khouri said.

The Disi water conveyance project, slated for completion in 2013, entails the construction of a pipeline to convey water from the ancient Disi aquifer in southern Jordan to Amman.

The project is expected to provide the capital with 110 million cubic meters of water through the pipeline that will pass through several water stations in Maan, Tafileh, Karak and Madaba.

Ten per cent of the Disi basin is in the south of Jordan and 90 per cent in Saudi Arabia, which uses it for agricultural and drinking purposes.

18 May 2011

Source: The Jordan Times.
Link: http://www.jordantimes.com/index.php?news=37584.

SETI search to look at 'likely' worlds

BERKELEY, Calif., May 16 (UPI) -- U.S. astronomers searching for alien life say they'll aim radio telescopes at some likely candidates among 1,235 planets discovered by a NASA space telescope.

Astronomers at the University of California, Berkeley say once they acquire 24 hours of data on a total of 86 Earth-like planets among those found by the Kepler space telescope, they'll initiate a coarse analysis and then, in about two months, ask an estimated 1 million SETI@home users to conduct a more detailed analysis on their home computers, a CU Berkeley release reported last week.

"It's not absolutely certain that all of these stars have habitable planetary systems, but they're very good places to look for ET," CU Berkeley graduate student Andrew Simeon said.

Astronomers will concentrate on planets in a star's habitable zone, where liquid water could exist.

"We've picked out the planets with nice temperatures -- between zero and 100 degrees Celsius (32 degrees to 212 degrees F.) -- because they are a lot more likely to harbor life," said physicist Dan Worthier, chief scientist for SETI@home .

"It's really exciting to be able to look at this first batch of Earth-like planets."

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/05/16/SETI-search-to-look-at-likely-worlds/UPI-93271305582867/.

Bahrain parliament now down to 22 members

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
May 17, 2011

MANAMA: Bahrain’s parliament has accepted the resignations of seven more lawmakers from the Shiite opposition, leaving the 40-member parliament with only 22 lawmakers.

The resignations were submitted in February over the deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters. The lawmakers acted alongside 11 other Shiite opposition members of parliament whose resignations were previously accepted.

Elections to replace the 18 empty seats are scheduled for September.

Shiites make up about 70 percent of the population in a kingdom ruled by a 200-year-old Sunni dynasty but parliament is dominated by Sunnis. The Shiite lawmakers were the driving force behind protests calling for political reforms that began in February.

Bahraini authorities have been seeking to prosecute opposition leaders and other protesters perceived to be linked to clashes and protests in the Gulf Arab nation.

A special security court set up under martial law sentenced four people to death last month for killing two policemen during the unrest. It is also trying 21 mostly Shiite opposition leaders and political activists accused of plotting against the state.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article409632.ece.

Thousands of Kurds attend funeral of Kurdish rebel

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
May 17, 2011

ANKARA, Turkey: Thousands of Kurds have turned out for the funeral of one of 12 Kurdish rebels killed by Turkish troops as they attempted to sneak into Turkey from their bases in northern Iraq.

Turkish media say mourners, waving the red-yellow-green banners of the outlawed rebel group, chanted anti-government slogans as they marched toward the cemetery in the southeastern city of Hakkari on Tuesday.

The weekend’s rebel losses have fueled tensions in the run-up to June 12 national elections. Rebel supporters have attacked police with stones and firebombs in the southeast and in Istanbul.

The rebels have been fighting for autonomy in the Kurdish-dominated southeast since 1984 and have threatened to intensify their attacks if Turkey does not agree to negotiations by June 15.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article409937.ece.

Saudis seek night vision systems

WASHINGTON, May 17 (UPI) -- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is seeking $330 million worth of night vision and thermal vision equipment from the United States.

The Foreign Military Sale would comprise 200 High-performance In-Line Sniper Sight Thermal Weapon Sights -- 1,500 meter; 200 MilCAM Recon III LocatIR Long Range, Light Weight Thermal Binoculars with Geo Location; 7,000 Dual Beam Aiming Lasers; and 6,000 AN/PVS-21 Low Profile Night Vision Goggles.

The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency, in its notification to Congress, said the possible sale also would include spare and repair parts, support equipment, technical documentation and publications, translation services, training, U. S. government and contractor technical and logistics support services and other related elements of logistical and program support.

The proposed sale would bolster Saudi Arabia's capability to meet current and future threats from potential adversaries during operations conducted at night and during low-visibility conditions, it said.

The Saudi military is responsible for regional, perimeter and border security operations and the proposed sale meets their defense and counter-terrorism requirements to deter current insurgent activity along their southern border and contributes to their overall military posture, the agency added.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2011/05/17/Saudis-seek-night-vision-systems/UPI-59891305632070/.

IAI plans display of missiles

TEL AVIV, Israel, May 17 (UPI) -- Israel Aerospace Industries reports it will present a new maritime application for its Jumper autonomous artillery system in Singapore this week.

Other systems by IAI, its division and subsidiaries on display at the Singapore International Maritime Defense Exhibition and Conference include unmanned aerial vehicles, radars and surveillance payloads.

"IAI is always striving to achieve new goals and extract its abilities to the max," said Itzhak Nissan, president and chief executive officer of IAI. "In this maritime exhibition we shall present our advanced technologies and products, which deliver (to) our clients the best solutions in all fronts."

Jumper -- designed and manufactured by the MLM Division MLM Division of Systems, Missiles and Space Group -- is a precision tactical weapon system launched from a Vertical Launcher Hive to strike targets at ranges of up to 31 miles.

The VLH can be deployed on a truck or on the ground or on a vessel deck for sea-to-land fire support.

The VLH is composed of eight or more canistered missiles and one integrated command and control unit. Each Jumper missile is GPS/INS equipped.

IAI is also showing its Naval Barak-8 long-range missile defense and air defense systems; the Naval Lahat advanced Laser Homing Attack Missile; its fixed-wing Maritime Heron unmanned aerial system and naval rotary UAV; and Multi-function Surveillance Track and Guidance Radar and Advanced Lightweight Phased Array Naval Radar Vertical Takeoff/Landing System.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2011/05/17/IAI-plans-display-of-missiles/UPI-69631305626143/.

Israel detains Islamic Jihad leader without charge or trial

Monday 16/05/2011

JENIN (Ma'an) -- Israeli military authorities on Monday sentenced an Islamic Jihad leader to six months in prison without charge or trial, a detainees' center said.

Sheikh Bassam Al-Sadi will be held at Ofer military prison near Ramallah under administrative detention, the center said.

Al-Sadi was detained immediately after Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement in Cairo, the center noted, adding that he was detained only two months after finishing an 8-year sentence in Israeli prisons.

The Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem has recorded thousands of cases of administrative detention in which Palestinians have been detained "for prolonged periods of time, without prosecuting them, without informing them of the charges against them, and without allowing them or their attorneys to study the evidence."

Israeli military officials can hold detainees in administrative detention for up to six months, but the term is indefinitely renewable.

Detainees can spend years in Israeli prisons without ever knowing what they are accused of. Their lawyers are not told what the charges are, undermining their ability to defend their clients.

"In practice, Israel breaches international law, while misusing the powers given to military commanders in the Administrative Detention Order," B'Tselem says.

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=388301.

New solar product captures up to 95 percent of light energy

Columbia MO (SPX) May 17, 2011

Efficiency is a problem with today's solar panels; they only collect about 20 percent of available light. Now, a University of Missouri engineer has developed a flexible solar sheet that captures more than 90 percent of available light, and he plans to make prototypes available to consumers within the next five years.

Patrick Pinhero, an associate professor in the MU Chemical Engineering Department, says energy generated using traditional photovoltaic (PV) methods of solar collection is inefficient and neglects much of the available solar electromagnetic (sunlight) spectrum.

The device his team has developed - essentially a thin, moldable sheet of small antennas called nantenna - can harvest the heat from industrial processes and convert it into usable electricity.

Their ambition is to extend this concept to a direct solar facing nantenna device capable of collecting solar irradiation in the near infrared and optical regions of the solar spectrum.

Working with his former team at the Idaho National Laboratory and Garrett Moddel, an electrical engineering professor at the University of Colorado, Pinhero and his team have now developed a way to extract electricity from the collected heat and sunlight using special high-speed electrical circuitry.

This team also partners with Dennis Slafer of MicroContinuum, Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., to immediately port laboratory bench-scale technologies into manufacturable devices that can be inexpensively mass-produced.

"Our overall goal is to collect and utilize as much solar energy as is theoretically possible and bring it to the commercial market in an inexpensive package that is accessible to everyone," Pinhero said.

"If successful, this product will put us orders of magnitudes ahead of the current solar energy technologies we have available to us today."

As part of a rollout plan, the team is securing funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and private investors. The second phase features an energy-harvesting device for existing industrial infrastructure, including heat-process factories and solar farms.

Within five years, the research team believes they will have a product that complements conventional PV solar panels. Because it's a flexible film, Pinhero believes it could be incorporated into roof shingle products, or be custom-made to power vehicles.

Once the funding is secure, Pinhero envisions several commercial product spin-offs, including infrared (IR) detection. These include improved contraband-identifying products for airports and the military, optical computing, and infrared line-of-sight telecommunications.

Source: Solar Daily.
Link: http://www.solardaily.com/reports/New_solar_product_captures_up_to_95_percent_of_light_energy_999.html.

Al-Nakba in Jordan – Shame has a new name

Tuesday, 17 May 2011

By Julie Webb for Scoop

Following Friday's peaceful event, over a thousand people on Sunday commemorated Al-Nakba by traveling from Amman to the Square of the Unknown Soldier, outside the town of Karameh, in the Jordan valley, several kilometers from the border with Israel.

Al-Nakba, or ‘catastrophe’, is the term describing the mass deportation of a million Palestinians from their cities and villages in 1948, including massacres of civilians, and the razing to the ground of hundreds of Palestinian villages, to establish the State of
Israel.

Not much has changed in the intervening years – except, perhaps, for the identity of the persecutors.

Sunday’s event at the Square of the Unknown Soldier, some eight kilometers from the King Hussein Bridge border crossing, was attended by hundreds of women and children, as well as young Palestinians who have never set foot in their own country.

But on Sunday it was not Israeli forces shooting them, beating them, throwing rocks at them, and trying to drive them away, it was Jordanians.

Jordanian police, Jordanian security forces, Jordanian gendarme, Jordanian hired thugs viciously attacking unarmed and peaceful Palestinians gathering to mark this significant day, in this significant location.

Karameh, where in 1968 Jordanian forces successfully fought alongside the Palestine Liberation Organization to repel the invading Israeli army. Karameh, whose name means "Dignity."

To what will surely be their eternal shame, Jordanian forces brutalized Palestinians for their dignified reminder to the world of their continued oppression by Israel.

The actions of the Jordanian security forces are incomprehensible - there was no attempt to cross the border - the crossing is some 8km away.

The accompanying photos show the Palestinian gathering, calm and peaceful, with young Palestinians joining hands in front of the police line to keep the families at a respectful distance. This video shows what I saw happening shortly afterwards, when three men walked down the road to leave, shortly after those photos were taken.

I had to hide the camera when we were surrounded by police and goons pursuing them, who ripped stakes out of the ground to use as weapons. Minutes later, more men armed with sticks and rocks attacked the crowd, aided and abetted by the uniformed thugs. This was but the first of several unprovoked, and completely unjustifiable, attacks with rocks, pieces of wood, teargas, and live fire over the next few hours on the unarmed Palestinians, the media, and a few foreigners there in support.

Scores were injured, with at least 19 requiring hospital treatment - one person shot in the stomach is now in a satisfactory condition.

The insult of Jordan’s unprovoked attacks on Palestinian dignity – and in the town of that name - and its apparent protecting of Israeli interests, will, like Al-Nakba itself, undoubtedly resonate throughout Jordan and beyond.

Shame, Jordan, SHAME.

Source: Scoop.
Link: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1105/S00153/al-nakba-in-jordan-shame-has-a-new-name.htm.

Libya's Benghazi laments city's decay under Gaddafi

By Mohammed Abbas
BENGHAZI | Mon May 16, 2011

(Reuters) - Down narrow rubbish-strewn alleys or wedged between concrete buildings, an occasional Italian or Ottoman architectural gem hints at drab and dilapidated Benghazi's cosmopolitan past.

The decaying structures in the east Libyan city are a symbol of the neglect the people of the region say they suffered under Muammar Gaddafi, whose control of Libya's east was ended by mass protests and an armed uprising in February.

Now that his writ has ended, Benghazi can openly lament the damage and isolation that 41 years of his rule has wrought.

"There was once a beautiful Turkish souk here. I remember in the 1980s when the shopkeepers were forcibly evicted, some under gunfire, before it was demolished," said Abdullah Hassy, 43, who lives in what could be a stunning Benghazi square.

On one side of the square is a local government building in use before Gaddafi overthrew King Idris in a 1969 coup.

An ornate mixture of Italian and Turkish styles and comprising a clock tower, the building seems set to collapse, its interior full of rubbish, graffiti and reeking of urine.

Once a pretty city of souks, Italian colonial buildings and Ottoman villas, Benghazi suffered heavy bombing by the allies in World War 2. Four decades of Gaddafi's quasi-socialist rule have been equally unkind.

Modern Benghazi is mostly made up of utilitarian concrete blocks and patches of waste ground. The few relatively glitzy structures, such as hotels, are business interests of Gaddafi or those close to him.

"This Ottoman mosque was restored by the worshipers, not Gaddafi. The only buildings Gaddafi cared about were the ones related to him," said Hassan Joudah, 20, pointing to a yellow mosque on the other side of the square.

Gaddafi took better care of the capital Tripoli in Libya's west, and his home town Sirte, which state largesse has transformed from a nondescript village into a mini-city, home to government institutions and a showcase for his power.

Leading away from the square are Italian-style shopping colonnades topped by shuttered windows and curved iron Juliet balconies. At the end of the northern colonnade lies perhaps the most potent symbol of the city's neglect.

BELATED RESTORATION

A cavernous double-domed Catholic cathedral dominates the city's waterfront, and in an adjoining wing statues lie in open crates like coffins, while stone friezes depicting Christ lie in open boxes on the floor.

The wing's windows are long gone and its door has no lock, leaving the artwork open to the elements and passers-by.

Built in the 1930s under Italian occupation, the cathedral has not been used for decades, its interior damaged by fire.

Shafts of sunlight from cracked stained glass windows pierce the charred gloomy interior, highlighting floating motes of dust. The floor is a sea of feathers and bird droppings.

Wali Saleh, head of Benghazi's council for the preservation and restoration of old buildings, said the friezes and statues were removed and packed away after the fire.

He said his appointment in April last year under Gaddafi's rule was part of his administration's belated attempts to stop the architectural rot in Benghazi.

"There was some younger blood coming up in Gaddafi's administration, and they started to pay attention to the old buildings, from a historical and tourism perspective," he said.

On taking his post, he blocked the destruction of old buildings and commissioned a survey, finding 173 old structures in Benghazi in need of protection.

There are signs of some rudimentary restoration work, with scaffolding propping up the Benghazi local government building and parts of the cathedral, but Saleh said work stalled due to bureaucratic problems with Tripoli and a lack of funds.

With Benghazi's new rebel leadership struggling for finance, it is unlikely that further restoration will take place any time soon, but Saleh is hopeful.

"There's been a change of mentality. When I speak to the new executive, they all seem to love this city and are sad about what's happened to it," he said.

"They seem really keen to preserve Benghazi, and tie its new future to its past."

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/16/us-libya-benghazi-idUSTRE74F3ZP20110516.